A little knowledge goes a long way. Quizzing adventures in Ireland.

Posts Tagged ‘university’

In days of yore, when attending a certain university college I wasn’t the most diligent of students. However, myself and my cohort always made it our business to actually turn up for the last week of classes. The reason for this wasn’t anything to do with last-minute panic or remorse over our lack of attendance. No, it was simply down to the fact that we knew that most lecturers were generous (and preferred if their class did well overall) and would be offering tips on the upcoming exam.

Sometimes these were downright blunt. “If I were ye, I’d make sure I knew Bernoulli’s principle” said one. Lo! And indeed behold: a question using Bernoulli‘s equation appeared on the paper the following week and thus a handy 20% was acquired. I was already half-way to where I needed to be. 😉

Others were less inclined to be so giving and would offer advice which, under analysis, pretty much boiled down to “study the whole course”.

I would like to think I am in the middle of the spectrum and after the ‘more…’ I have included the list of round types for this Friday’s quiz.

There is a theory that resurfaces from time to time that there is no better tool for the promotion of an event or sport than the individual brilliance of a superstar performer. News stories grow up around their rare (maybe even freakish) abilities and, through them, the general public are thus introduced to, or reminded of the existence of, the event.

The effect was seen in action again this week as the build-up to the final of this year’s University Challenge seemed to focus entirely on Gail Trimble, captain of the Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

“Is she the cleverest contestant ever?” wondered Paul Gallagher in The Guardian as, en-route to the final, she had scored 825 of the team’s 1,235 points. The writer also informed us that one of her opponents likened her style to “intellectual blitzkrieg”. In the quarter-final, Corpus Christi were so dominant that they only allowed the University of Exeter 15 points – a new low-score record for the current series under Jeremy Paxman.